Sony Interactive Entertainment Announces 900 Job Cuts, Includes Worldwide PlayStation Studios

[Famine]

This is the discussion thread for an article on GTPlanet:

Sony Interactive Entertainment Announces 900 Job Cuts, Includes Worldwide PlayStation Studios​

Sony Interactive Entertainment has today announced that it’ll be the latest big name in the gaming industry to trim its workforce, communicating the intent to lay off around 900 staff around the globe...

 

[Johan]

Well… Perhaps it was a good thing I didn’t go past first interview with PD then. Still… Sad news, even if the Netherlands studio is unaffected.

 

[snc]

Well… Perhaps it was a good thing I didn’t go past first interview with PD then. Still… Sad news, even if the Netherlands studio is unaffected.

What were the questions ? ;d

 

[PuffelPizza]

I hope GT7 is fine.

 

[chengman]

What were the questions ? ;d

Probably "What's your favorite GT-R?"

 

[Fezzik]

Well… Perhaps it was a good thing I didn’t go past first interview with PD then. Still… Sad news, even if the Netherlands studio is unaffected.

the Netherlands studio is Guerrilla? reports says they are cutting 10% of their workforce.

 

[Johan]

What were the questions ? ;d

Like any other: trying to get a grip on who You are, Your expectations and what You might bring to the table. All the normal ones. Hwo’d have guessed?

 

[tothesz]

I hope the Sophy project isn't affected. If they manage to generalize the AI, as they mentioned, it will change the SP experience like forever.

 

[Abyss1]

Typical in the tech world, having lived in the bay area during the dot.com bubble through today you see yearly lay offs, some of them never make the major news rounds. Still a lot of work from home going on that companies can no longer afford, because they are paying for office spaces and spend millions on remodeling them (especially in Palo Alto)

I live a block away from a Sony office in San Jose and they've been downsizing since COVID...
https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/research/about/us-laboratory/

 

[kjb]

I feel bad for all of the affected workers. Getting laid off is never fun. Hopefully they will get some type of severance pay

 

[Abyss1]

I feel bad for all of the affected workers. Getting laid off is never fun. Hopefully they will get some type of severance pay

Most of these tech jobs come with severances, also they may give people stock options but the crappy thing (as you know being an American), they loose most of their health benefits

 

[Tornado]

This is what happens when you overleverage yourself so much towards unsustainable infinite growth that you're doing things like spending 315 million dollars on a Spiderman game that mostly reuses assets from a previous Spiderman game but still cost 315 million dollars.

This also explains Sony's big push towards PC including lifting the absurd "We'll sit on this for a year before releasing to shrugs on Steam because we're still charging $60 for it" and the supposed news that PSVR will be compatible with PCs.

 

[05XR8]

Next Gran Turismo game.

 

[kjb]

Most of these tech jobs come with severances, also they may give people stock options but the crappy thing (as you know being an American), they loose most of their health benefits

If they have the benefits like Ihave they ain't missing much 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

[INEEDNAWZZZ]

Sucks to see, especially shutting London Studio entirely. A lot of historical talent squandered there.

 

[Nielsen]

Self-inflicted problem. For example, so far Naughty Dog has spent this console generation remastering their existing games. A prolific studio like this should create, or at least announce, something new if Sony wants to sell enough PS5 consoles.

 

[HarVee]

I just wonder how many employees PD has lost? And what this will mean for development of GT8.

 

[Nielsen]

I just wonder how many employees PD has lost? And what this will mean for development of GT8.

Nothing. People get fired because they are not needed going forward.

 

[Tornado]

It doesn't mean anything for GT8's development because it doesn't sound like PD was particularly impacted by these layoffs, if at all. Whether the people fired were "needed" is rarely the highest concern when doing massive corporate slashing like this. Saving money in the short term after a negative earnings statement is.

 

[ZedNinetySix]

"There's no way this will shoot us in the foot in the future!"

I swear whoever makes such decisions has absolutely no capacity to even think long-term.

Sure, go make mass layoffs for a quick big buck only to have that bite you back later. Smh, see it all the time everywhere, and it's disgusting.

Anyway, nothing will ever stop the wheel of self-inflicted karma.

 

[Fezzik]

Self-inflicted problem. For example, so far Naughty Dog has spent this console generation remastering their existing games. A prolific studio like this should create, or at least announce, something new if Sony wants to sell enough PS5 consoles.

They've been developing a multiplayer spinoff of The Last Of Us, codenamed Factions, but it got canned like a lot of the planned Playstation GAAS. Same situation with Firesprite (Twisted Metal multiplayer game cancelled) and London Studio (fantasy co-op game cancelled). Guerrilla's multiplayer Horizon project survived (so far) because it is likely a mobile game.

Workers paying the price for mistakes of management, as ever.

 

[Real_StiFex]

Oh sweet child memory with the Getaway…. If only we could have a GTA-like with serious tone and more grounded in realism….
thz way the modelise london et the little quick they had, like the turn signal used to show player le direction to take unstead of a big floatting 3d arrow… well one has dream about another game trying the formula

 

[juanffy18]

For the moment the official affected ones are:

• Guerrilla Games
• London Studio
• Playstation Spain
• Firesprite, because the cancelation of the Twited Metal Gaas
• Insomniac
• Naughty Dog

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

"There's no way this will shoot us in the foot in the future!"

I swear whoever makes such decisions has absolutely no capacity to even think long-term.

Sure, go make mass layoffs for a quick big buck only to have that bite you back later. Smh, see it all the time everywhere, and it's disgusting.

Anyway, nothing will ever stop the wheel of self-inflicted karma.

Sony is a publicly traded company. As such, the executives and the board will make whatever decision is best for enriching themselves, and boy do they need that stock price to go upppp. Shareholders love layoffs and executives love money more than they love anything else.

 

[RedRockValley]

It doesn't mean anything for GT8's development because it doesn't sound like PD was particularly impacted by these layoffs, if at all. Whether the people fired were "needed" is rarely the highest concern when doing massive corporate slashing like this. Saving money in the short term after a negative earnings statement is.

Yeah, love them or hate them, PD is SIE's "golden goose" - the amount of outreach Gran Turismo has in the automotive industry and all over the world is staggering. Wouldn't make much sense to slash most of their numbers.

 

[mef]

"There's no way this will shoot us in the foot in the future!"

I swear whoever makes such decisions has absolutely no capacity to even think long-term.

Sure, go make mass layoffs for a quick big buck only to have that bite you back later. Smh, see it all the time everywhere, and it's disgusting.

Anyway, nothing will ever stop the wheel of self-inflicted karma.

The only people getting bitten here are workers, and maybe shareholders. The CEO and the c-suite will run into the sunset with their equity.
I agree with you it's disugsting. I used to think working hard brings success, I've seen instead falling upwards and being incompetent and BEING LUCKY is the crucial ingredient. It's disgusting. Tax the rich. And I don't mean those making a few hundred K a year. Tax those with 10m up and tax CEOs. It's become an absolute joke over the last 10years.

 

[chengman]

The only people getting bitten here are workers, and maybe shareholders. The CEO and the c-suite will run into the sunset with their equity.
I agree with you it's disugsting. I used to think working hard brings success, I've seen instead falling upwards and being incompetent and BEING LUCKY is the crucial ingredient. It's disgusting. Tax the rich. And I don't mean those making a few hundred K a year. Tax those with 10m up and tax CEOs. It's become an absolute joke over the last 10years.

Hmmm would you look at that. They had the budget to do a $1.5b stock buyback last year. Yeah these layoffs are just to inflate their Q1/Q2( I don't follow how Sony does their fiscal year calcs) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ck-up-to-1-5-billion-in-shares-over-next-year

 

[mef]

Facebook is Another example. If politicians or political parties had integrity they’d make buy backs illegal again.

 

[mef]

For the moment the official affected ones are:

• Guerrilla Games
• London Studio
• Playstation Spain
• Firesprite, because the cancelation of the Twited Metal Gaas
• Insomniac
• Naughty Dog

London studio isnt just “affected”, it was closed. Brexit probably didn’t help. Boris Johnson made off into the sunset, what a Baffoon.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Need a popular and angry movement against share buybacks and for executive compensation reform. The ultra wealthy are going to just keep exploiting the system at everyone else's expense.